[pinochet]

>>>Conversely, if Europe converted to Islam, they’d be having 3-5 children. And suicide bombers galore

But Islam is not part of Western Civilization. But Judaism is among the founding cultures of Western civilization. That is the major difference.

Jews have lived in Greece since 300 BC When a state is majority Jewish, it is recognizably European. European culture is honored in a majority Jewish nation, than in European Muslim nations like Albania and Bosnia.

[Alberta's Child]

The term "European culture" is meaningless in many ways. It certainly would have been meaningless through most of human history.

Heck -- even terms like "German culture" and "French culture" didn't mean anything until 150-200 years ago.

[Jack Black]

But Islam is not part of Western Civilization. But Judaism is among the founding cultures of Western civilization. That is the major difference.I disagree, Islam is a part of Western Civilization, too. A big chunk of the history of Europe is the history of encountering, and often fighting off Islam. So to some extent it is the history or the encounter with "the other", but not everywhere. For instance, if you go to Spain you can find entire cities, like Corboba, with unique architecture and art that the encounter with Islam created.

I can't really think of any area where Jews have had this level of impact in Europe, creating entire cities and filling them with unique architecture.

Jews have lived in Greece since 300 BC

Yes, and like Islam they have always held themselves apart, so just as the European encounter with Islam is mostly an encounter with "otherness" sometimes far away, and sometimes among us, so too is most of Europe's history with the Jews.

When a state is majority Jewish, it is recognizably European.

Israel is recognizably Middle Eastern with a lot of European influence. It probably is closest to Beruit before Assad and the PLO destroyed it.

European culture is honored in a majority Jewish nation, than in European Muslim nations like Albania and Bosnia.

The Jewish religion doesn't require, or even desire, that everyone join it or die. The Jews have not set out to conquer vast swaths of the globe, and convert the people living their to their religion and language. The Arab Muslims have. So those are big differences, but I still think it's going too far to claim Judaism as a founding culture of Europe. They are a Middle Eastern tribe, not a European one. Christianity was largely constructed by Europeans to suit the European mind, not by Jews for us.